I was eating late, 8:30-9pm and working on my laptop until 10:30 -11pm each night. I had to get up around 5am to ensure attendance at the daily 6am Project meeting. This resulted in poor sleeping habits and insufficient rest. My sleep debt was made visible through a study using the Readiband (personal movement data collection device) and the interpretation issued by Fatigue Science.

During the time of the study, 52% of the time that I was awake, I was a risk to myself and my coworkers. I was more impaired that the legal limit for alcohol. Project managers trusted me with Project decisions and safety of others on busy roads. I was a potential safety statistic waiting to happen. Fortunately, I was confronted with this stark information.

I started recording my progress toward improvement:

Sleep duration

Daily routine , including meals and time to bed and rising

Daily exercise and relaxation

I was able to get my sleep on track and my performance closer the ideal.